Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 1:01am
Turkey's Alevi sect fights for rights
Members of Turkey's Alevi sect, an unorthodox branch of Islam, say they feel discriminated against in the mostly Sunni country. "We want recognition and legal status for our prayer houses," Kamil Aykanat, head of Okmeydani Alevi community in Istanbul, told BBC News online in a story posted Wednesday.
"Instead, the state builds Sunni mosques in Alevi villages and teaches Sunni Islam in our schools. Our children have even been beaten for not fasting when Sunnis do," he said.
An estimated one in five Turks are Alevi, although there are no official figures. In Alevi services, men and women worship side by side, sermons resemble those given by Christian pastors and music accompanies the service.
Turkey's government is strictly secular with no official religion, but official figures show it spends $1.5 billion each year funding 85,000 Sunni mosques and their Imams. Alevi prayer houses - or Cemevi - can be registered only as cultural centers and are funded by private donations.
Christian children are exempt from obligatory religious classes in Turkey, but Alevis had to fight in court for that right. The European Court of Human Rights upheld them, but the ruling is still not being applied in Turkey.
There are signs of change, however. Earlier this year, Sunni Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a dinner for members of the Alevi community.
"Instead, the state builds Sunni mosques in Alevi villages and teaches Sunni Islam in our schools. Our children have even been beaten for not fasting when Sunnis do," he said.
An estimated one in five Turks are Alevi, although there are no official figures. In Alevi services, men and women worship side by side, sermons resemble those given by Christian pastors and music accompanies the service.
Turkey's government is strictly secular with no official religion, but official figures show it spends $1.5 billion each year funding 85,000 Sunni mosques and their Imams. Alevi prayer houses - or Cemevi - can be registered only as cultural centers and are funded by private donations.
Christian children are exempt from obligatory religious classes in Turkey, but Alevis had to fight in court for that right. The European Court of Human Rights upheld them, but the ruling is still not being applied in Turkey.
There are signs of change, however. Earlier this year, Sunni Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended a dinner for members of the Alevi community.